Friday, 22 March 2013

A Spooky Tale

It was an eerie night. The wind wailed like a heartbroken
banshee. She sat smiling peevishly to herself, oblivious to the sinister night
and thought of the ways she could disturb the peace of the sleeping household.
She was no longer scared of the darkness or the invisible for she thought, ‘I
am born out of the darkness and am the invisible’s nightmare.’ She lives in a world of fantasy. Sometimes she's Jean Grey and sometimes she's The Phoenix. She moved around the house, swaying to a bizarre melody in
her head that had once scared her when she was a child. Something is not right
here. What do you call a child who never stops being a child? Let’s rephrase
it. It was the haunting melody that had scared her a decade back. The music
that played when The Undertaker entered the ring. How she loved the wrestler!
So, while it played in her head, she walked towards the master bedroom where
her parents slept. It was dark as she entered. Just then she heard the bathroom
door close. She glanced over the bed and realized it was her mother in the
bathroom. Her grin widened as the stage was perfectly set for the idea in her
head. She let her tresses fall over her face and stood waiting
patiently, to pounce upon her prey.

Her eyes drowsy and half closed, the Mother stepped out. The poor unsuspecting victim. The
Girl suddenly jumped in front of her. The Mother was petrified and her eyes widened in pure terror. All the remnants of sleep dissipated. A weirdly muffled scream somehow escaped her
throat. The Father woke up with a start. Before they could realize what
happened, the Girl ran into the bathroom and bolted it shut. When she thought,
everything was calm outside; she stepped out trying hard to suppress her
laughter as her mother’s shocked face kept flashing in her mind. While she stealthily walked out of the master bedroom, she heard her mother say, ‘You
wait till I get my hands on you. I might have had a cardiac arrest, you spoilt
brat.’ A soft giggle floated in the air and the Girl ran out of the room.

She lingered around the dining hall feeling victorious and
complacent. All the excitement got her parched. So she poured herself a
glass of water and had taken the first sip when she heard the clang of
bangles in the silence of the intense darkness. There was somebody at the other side of
the table. As the sound of the anklets approached her, the water in her mouth
refused to move past her throat. She spilled it out, placed the glass on the table and ran as fast as her feet could carry her into the master bedroom. She slid into the covers beside her
mother and hugged her tight.

Who was the ghost in the dining hall? It was the Grandmother.
After she had her drink, she went mumbling into her room, ‘What’s wrong with this
girl? She wanders around the house at 2.30 am and spits out water here and there.’